Menlo College redshirt freshman linebacker Sinaan Hewitt was hanging out with friends, ready to watch the Super Bowl, when his teammate Torenzo Vereen noticed an email from the coaching staff.
"It said the (Menlo) football team was being dismantled," said Hewitt from Eisenhower-Rialto High in Southern California. "Then about two hours later we got an email from the (college) president saying the football team was no longer. Everybody was in shock and me and other players were in tears."
Menlo coach Mark Grieb told the San Jose Mercury he was "blind-sided" by the decision which has caused anger and frustration on the Atherton campus over the loss of the 29-year-old program.
As with other Bay Area private colleges such as St. Mary's, USF and Santa Clara, money was the issue in shutting down the program. Hewitt said there was "no warning" and "no sign" of what was to happen.
"I'm just weighing my options now, like many other kids," said Hewitt, who is from the same high school as Ronnie Lott of San Francisco 49ers fame. "I'm going to try to get in touch with other schools."
There are more than 10 players from area high schools who would expected to be back next season if the Oaks had a team, including former Piedmont Hills quarterback Anthony McBride. There are also many players from Southern California who were on last season's roster and a surprising number from Hawaii.
Menlo is honoring the scholarships of players electing to stay at the school, according to the Mercury. Players who transfer will be eligible next season and won't have to sit out a year. Other Menlo football players may be steered into other sports.
Hewitt said he played baseball in high school but that football is his main sport.
SIGNING DAY UPON US: Wednesday is National Letter of Intent signing day.
Players all over the CCS and NCS will be part of signing ceremonies, such as Jason Scrempos at Milpitas who will have his at 10 a.m.
If you know of an athlete from the CCS or NCS signing this week, please forward name, school and college to jmurphy@prep2prep.com
Here are the top-flight area players expected to sign from the CCS:
Ben Burr-Kirven (Sacred Heart Prep) Washington, Jack Dreyer (Serra) Stanford, Tommy Hudson (Mitty) Arizona State, Kirk Johnson (Valley Christian) Texas, Thomas Toki (St. Francis) Washington State,
Dakari Monroe (Mitty) San Jose State, Jason Scrempos (Milpitas) Washington, Terrell Townsend (South San Francisco), San Jose State, Steven Dinneen (St. Francis) Air Force.
These are the players from the NCS:
Kahlil McKenzie (Clayton Valley Charter) Tennessee, Stephen Johnson (San Leandro) UCLA, Isaiah Langley (Foothill) USC, Tyler Petite (Campolindo), USC, Dru Samia (San Ramon Valley) Oklahoma,
Matt Abramo (Casa Grande) Petaluma; Brady Aiello (Acalanes) Oregon; Cameron Burston (San Jose State) Stellar Prep, Dominic Frederickson (Freedom) San Jose State,
Jake Hanson (Eureka) Oregon, Kyle Kearns (Foothill) Wake Forest, Alex Kosinski (Redwood) Arizona, Jake Hanson (Eureka) Oregon, Kieffer Longson (Dougherty Valley) Yale*,
David Lui (Pittsburg) Yale*, Reggie Murphy (Heritage) San Diego State, Noah Myers (Las Lomas) Washington State, Simba Short (De La Salle) Northwestern, Matt Snyder (San Ramon Valley) Nebraska.
* Ivy League schools do not give athletic scholarships.
NEW DEL MAR COACH NAMED: Jason Bumbaca is the new Del Mar football coach. He succeeds Bryan Beacraft who resigned after last season's 6-4 record.
Bumbaca, 34, is also the Del Mar athletic director. He played three sports at Wilcox, played baseball at Mission College and Cal State Hayward and was an assistant coach at Wilcox and Santa Clara.
“I see the potential for the program, but we need more assistants on campus and we need to build more interest on campus,” Bumbaca said. “We need to recruit kids (on campus) and monitor their grades and house study halls. I think it’s a good fit for me and the right time.”
Briefly: St. Francis football lineman Steven Dinneen committed this week to Air Force ... Watsonville soccer star Luis Orendain will sign with Mercy College (N.Y.) on Friday, tweeted Jim Seimas of the Santa Cruz Sentinel ... In case you didn't notice, the winning 3-yard touchdown pass in the Super Bowl involved former San Mateo County prep players, going from quarterback Tom Brady (Serra) to receiver Julian Edelman (Woodside).
